


Nightmares and Solace

by i_write_shakespeare_not_disney



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Fluff, Gen, M/M, Nightmares, headcannon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-26
Updated: 2016-06-26
Packaged: 2018-07-18 10:29:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7311295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_write_shakespeare_not_disney/pseuds/i_write_shakespeare_not_disney
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nico suffers trauma from his time in Tartarus and asks to be able to sleep in the Apollo cabin even though he doesn't have a doctor's note.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nightmares and Solace

Nico sat up in bed panting and sweating. The covers were tangled around his legs and his heart was pounding through his chest. He gasped for air and tried to calm down, running his fingers through his hair and pulling hard. He scowled into the darkness and whimpered like a little puppy.

He was fine, he told himself. He was safe. There was no voice, no fire, no monsters, no heat. Not in camp. Still, he couldn’t stop his hands from shaking or get a grip on himself long enough to pull free of his covers.

The worst part was waking up alone. Waking up to a lonely, dark cabin with no one to assure him he was okay. He was on his own when it came to that. Usually he didn’t mind the solitude. But at moments like these, when terror gripped his heart so tightly he couldn’t breathe or think, he wished his cabin was full of siblings like everyone else’s.

Nico took a deep breath and sighed as he sat back against the wall. He didn’t want to go back to sleep. And judging by the dark blue tinge in the sky and fading stars outside his window, it would be morning in about an hour anyway.

He stayed awake, looking out his window until he saw the lights in the Apollo cabin flicker on. They always woke up first. The Hypnos cabin was the only cabin that never turned their lights on. They tried to sleep in as much as possible- even that meant not waking up until the next afternoon.

The door to the cabin opened and Will stepped outside, his arms crossed, and a smile on his face. Nico felt those funny skeletal butterflies flutter around his stomach again. He was shortly followed by Apollo who looked gloomy and tired.

It was sort of funny to see them together. One had brought him to camp, the other made him stay. Despite his uneasiness, Nico smiled.

As the morning went on, and the sky became brighter, the other cabins woke up. Soon campers were all over the place, mostly going to the pavilion for breakfast. Nico figured he should leave his own cabin.

He got dressed and walked over to the Apollo cabin, and Will smiled at him as he neared him. “Morning, Nico.”

“Morning,” he answered. He nodded at Apollo who seemed lost in his thoughts. “Breakfast?” Will nodded and fell in step with Nico.

As they ate, Nico busied himself with food, and the Apollo kids talked among themselves. Someone dropped their tray and the resonating sound made Nico jump in his seat. He could still hear that voice in his head, and it made him tense and nervous.

He stood abruptly and Will turned to him with a confused look. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’ll be right back, okay?” Will frowned, but he nodded, and Nico turned away. He started for the Big House, unsure yet of how to explain. He wasn’t sure Chiron would be very lenient with this, doctor’s note, or no doctor’s note.

Hesitantly, he knocked on the door. “Come in,” he heard. He walked in and found Chiron in his wheel chair eating cookies and drinking tea. “Hello, Nico,” he greeted.

“Hi, Chiron,” he said anxiously. “Uh, I wanted to ask you something.” Chiron nodded, encouraging him to continue. “Well, it might sound kind of crazy, but…. I wanted to know if I could maybe… get permission to… sleep in the Apollo cabin?”

Chiron’s bushy eyebrows furrowed together in a scolding look. “Now, Nico, you know I can’t let you do that. And I don’t care if you have a doctor’s note, it’s-”

“I don’t,” he interrupted. “I don’t have a note. Will doesn’t even know I’m asking this.” Chiron pursed his lips and grumbled. “I have nightmares. Really bad ones.” The disgruntled look on his face melted away into confusion. “About… Tartarus.” Nico cleared his throat. “I know what it sounds like. But I wake up alone in my cabin, freaking out and screaming, and I… I just want someone else there. It’s not just because of Will, okay, it’s Kayla and Austin, and the other Apollo kids. They’re… my friends. I just don’t want to keep waking up with no one to help me anymore.”

Chiron took a deep breath and huffed through his nose. He rubbed his beard thoughtfully and sighed. “Alright,” he granted. “I forget just how much you’ve gone through, son of Hades. Forgive me. I’ll allow it, but- there had better not be any funny business, okay?”

“I swear,” Nico promised, feeling relieved. “If you must know-”

“I don’t.”

“The most that’s ever happened is a kiss on the cheek, Chiron,” he continued anyway. Chiron raised his eyebrows in surprise. Nico shrugged. “It’s still new to me. The whole ‘feelings’ part of it.... And I guess it still seems a little strange? You know, old habits die hard. And this is a very, very old habit.” He shrugged again.  
“Nico…. Ah, child. Mr. D had very strong feelings about you.”

“Excuse me?” he questioned. He knew who it was, but he didn’t understand what Chiron meant.

“Did you know that Dionysus is also god of transgender people, effeminacy, and he took it upon himself to go ahead and be the patron god of homosexuality?” Nico choked on air and felt his cheeks go red. “When you met him, not only were you ecstatic to meet him, honoring him greatly in doing so, but… he knew about you, my dear boy.” Nico furrowed his eyebrows. “If I recall correctly, when you ran away from Percy, Dionysus called you a troubled young man. Percy didn’t understand, but I noticed Dionysus’ interest towards you. He was… in his own way protective. I know it can be difficult to accept that part of yourself, but you have this home now. The gods themselves-”

“If you’re trying to tell me I’m completely normal, thank you, but…. Chiron, I don’t think I’m anywhere near normal. I mean… I was born in the 1930s. I was stuck in time, and then it turns out I’m half god half human? And I can talk to spirits and I have a room in the Underworld for whenever I want to visit, I mean…. None of that is normal.”

Chiron smiled a kind, warm smile that made his brown eyes twinkle. Nico wondered how he’d suddenly started spilling everything out to him, but there was no going back. “No, I suppose not. But who wants to be normal when you can be extraordinary? You’re a hero, Nico. Embrace that. And let yourself be happy.”

Nico chuckled and smiled at the centaur. “Huh. Yeah. I guess you’re right. Normal’s overrated.”

He scratched his head awkwardly, but before he could say something else, the door opened. “Hey Chiron, do you think- oh. Hey, Nico.” Will walked in slightly confused. “What are you doing?”

“Just talking to Chiron,” he answered.

Will nodded and turned back to Chiron. “So we were wondering if maybe you could tell the harpies not to scratch us when taking our food? And maybe tell them to let us finish first?”

Chiron chuckled and nodded. “I’ll take note of that. Also, Will, could you please set up another bed in your cabin?”

Nico fidgeted and Will furrowed his eyebrows. “Do we have another new camper?” Chiron glanced pointedly at Nico and Will turned to him in question.

“Um, actually, I asked if I could sleep in your cabin.” Blood rushed to his cheeks as Will’s blue eyes widened. “I get nightmares,” he explained. “And I just thought you and Kayla and Austin could… you know help me when I wake up from them.”

“Oh,” he said in surprise. “Oh, okay.” He smiled, giving Nico a warm happy feeling. “Well, when you’re done here, come on over to the infirmary, okay? There’s some campers with some nasty cuts.” He glanced at Chiron expectantly.

“Actually, I think… we’re done?” Chiron smiled and nodded. “Yeah, so let’s go.” He followed Will out of the Big House and to the infirmary.

For the rest of the day, Nico felt a little better. About himself, about the night to come, and mostly about this new relationship with Will. It helped a lot that Will never pushed him to do anything. He never tried to hold his hand, he never tried to kiss him, he never got too close. He never did anything to make Nico uncomfortable. He let Nico set the pace, and Nico couldn’t be more grateful.

That night, Nico went into the Apollo cabin nervously. The others whispered and gave him surprised looks, but Will calmed them down. “Don’t get any ideas, he’s here with good reason.” He led Nico to the bed they’d set up for him. “Let me know if you need anything, okay?” Nico nodded mutely as he looked at the bed.

Will walked away to his own bed and the other campers shuffled around in their PJs to their own cots as well. Nico took off his jacket and changed into a looser shirt to sleep in. As he got into bed, he noticed some of the Apollo kids giggling at Will who looked very red in the face as he got into his own bed on the other side of the cabin.

He ignored it and laid down as someone turned off the light. He’d be okay. It was alright.

Suddenly, he was looking into Percy’s bright green eyes as snow settled around them. “Take care of her. Promise me!”

Percy hesitated before nodding. “I’ll do my best.”

Suddenly a scream ripped through the air and Nico gasped. It was Bianca. He wasn’t sure how he knew, but he did. But when he started running to look for her, he found himself at that same tunnel-like entrance with its unnatural pull.

“No, no, no,” he pleaded. He tried running the other way, but it was too late. He was being pulled down again, and he couldn’t even scream as he fell into the depths of Tartarus. “Not again,” he pleaded. “Please, not again.” He stood shakily and began walking. He’ made it out before, he could do it again.

Then, a voice like razorblades cut through his dream. “Oh, son of Hades. Do you really believe you can escape again? You may control the dead above, but you have no power here.” Nico tried to ignore it, shivering despite the heat. “Run, little boy, run,” the voice cackled. “You can never escape. I promise you that.”

Nico realized he’d been going in circles. He was going in circles and he couldn’t find a way to stop. He could see anything, not a river or a monster, or anything but the dark, barren floor. “Not again,” he whimpered. “No, no, no!” He fell on the floor, and felt the heat sear into his skin, burning him mercilessly. He let out a blood curdling scream.

Suddenly, he was sitting up in bed, the lights were on, and several voices around him were whispering. He wasn’t alone. It wasn’t dark.

He realized there was a strong pair of arms around him, shushing him as he gasped for air and shook violently. His shirt was matted to his back, soaked through with sweat, even his hair curled together in wet clumps at the nape of his neck and against his forehead.

He heard several gentle voices saying his name, asking if he was alright, if he needed anything. “Guys, hold on, let him catch his breath,” Will said near his ear. Nico gripped his shirt tightly and curled into him, hiding his face. “Hey, it’s okay. You’re safe. You’re perfectly safe, Nico. Sh, sh.”

“Here, I brought some water,” Kayla said in a hushed voice. Will pried Nico’s hands away gently and took the glass. Nico was shaking too much to hold it himself, so Will helped him drink it. Someone else put a cold cloth against his face, and pushed the hair out of his face. Another person had their thumb against his wrist to check his heart beat.

Nico took a deep breath and finally took in his surroundings. The Apollo cabin. The Apollo kids. Even Apollo himself was looking at him worriedly. They were all around him, but not close enough to freak him out. They were all looking at him curiously, worriedly, some with that determined look of a doctor.

Then right in front of him, sitting on the edge, was Will. With his hair in a mess from his pillow and his kind smile, and relaxing blue eyes. “Will,” he breathed in a hoarse voice. He leaned forward and wrapped his arm around him gratefully. Will chuckled in his ear and hugged him back.

“Hey,” he whispered. “Feel better?” Nico nodded and pulled away. “Do you want to talk about it?” he shook his head. “Okay, that’s okay. Alright guys, go ahead and go back to bed.”

“Th-thank you,” Nico stammered before they left. “Thank you.” Several of them gave him sunny smiles before leaving.

“Here,” Austin said, handing him a shirt. “You soaked that one through. I figured you could use another.” Nico took and smiled gratefully.

“Okay, arms up,” Will said softly. Nico gulped and did as he was told. Will was careful not to touch his skin as he helped him change his shirt. He was blushing slightly, and Nico could see his freckles a little more as he did, but Will remained calm and collected. “Let’s get you back to sleep okay?” Nico began to protest, but Will shushed him and pushed him back gently to lay down. “You’ll be fine, you dork. We’re all right here.” He fixed the covers for him and kneeled down beside him. “Close your eyes,” he whispered. “Can you get the lights, Austin? Thanks.” Austin did and returned to his bed.

Meanwhile, Will remained kneeling next to Nico. Without giving it much thought, Nico poked a hand out from under his covers face up and offered it to Will. Slightly surprised, Will put his hands into Nico’s and their fingers interlocked. His fit perfectly between the spaces of Nico’s and Nico sighed in content.

He shut his eyes and Will began to sing softly for him. His voice was husky and melodic. It sent warmth through Nico. Peace and serenity. He laughed lightly and Will stopped singing. “What?”

Nico laughed again, and in a sleepy voice, he said, “You’re my solace, Solace.”

Will chuckled and said, “And you call me a dork.” He squeezed his hand lightly and resumed singing. Slowly, Nico fell asleep. But this time, he dreamt of himself as a little kid, laughing, running down wet cobblestone streets beside his sister as a gentle laugh from behind them followed, calling their names.


End file.
